U.S. patent application number 13/497597 was filed with the patent office on 2012-08-23 for retaining plate for a vacuum cleaner filter bag.
Invention is credited to Ralf Sauer, Jan Schultink.
Application Number | 20120211625 13/497597 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 41651408 |
Filed Date | 2012-08-23 |
United States Patent
Application |
20120211625 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Schultink; Jan ; et
al. |
August 23, 2012 |
Retaining Plate for a Vacuum Cleaner Filter Bag
Abstract
The invention relates to a retaining plate for a vacuum-cleaner
filter bag comprising a through-passage opening and a closure flap
for closing the through-passage opening, wherein the closure flap
comprises a first region comprising a first material of a first
hardness and a second region comprising a second material of a
second hardness, wherein the second hardness is at a lower level
than the first hardness, wherein the second region is arranged, at
least in part, on the periphery of the closure flap, and wherein
the second material, at least in part, has a thickness of less than
1 mm.
Inventors: |
Schultink; Jan; (Overpelt,
BE) ; Sauer; Ralf; (Overpelt, BE) |
Family ID: |
41651408 |
Appl. No.: |
13/497597 |
Filed: |
September 23, 2010 |
PCT Filed: |
September 23, 2010 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/EP2010/005830 |
371 Date: |
May 8, 2012 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
248/311.2 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47L 9/1445 20130101;
A47L 9/1454 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
248/311.2 |
International
Class: |
A47L 9/14 20060101
A47L009/14 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Sep 25, 2009 |
EP |
09012207.8 |
Claims
1. A retaining plate for a vacuum cleaner filter bag, comprising a
through-passage opening and a closure flap for closing the
through-passage opening, wherein the closure flap comprises a first
region, comprising a first material of a first hardness, and a
second region, comprising a second material of a second hardness,
wherein the second hardness is less than the first hardness,
wherein the second region is arranged, at least in part, on a
periphery of the closure flap, and wherein the second material, at
least in part, has a thickness of less than 1 mm.
2. The retaining plate according to claim 1, wherein the first
and/or the second material comprise plastic, in particular wherein
the first material is a thermoplastic and/or the second material an
elastomer, in particular a thermoplastic elastomer.
3. The retaining plate according to claim 1, wherein the second
material has a hardness of 25 to 70 Shore A.
4. The retaining plate according to claim 1, wherein the second
material comprises a thickness of 0.02 mm to 0.9 mm.
5. The retaining plate according to claim 1, wherein the first
region has a smaller area than an area of the through-passage
opening.
6. The retaining plate according to claim 1, wherein the second
region is provided at least partially along a circumference of the
closure flap.
7. The retaining plate according to claim 1, wherein the second
region along a circumference of the closure flap at least in part
projects beyond the first region by at least 3 mm.
8. The retaining plate according to claim 1, wherein the second
region at least in part projects beyond the periphery of the
through-passage opening when the through-passage opening is
closed.
9. The retaining plate according to claim 1, wherein the second
region comprises a plurality of sections separated by slots.
10. The retaining plate according to claim 1, wherein the second
material is fixed to the first material in front of or behind the
first material in a closing direction of the closure flap.
11. The retaining plate according to claim 1, wherein the second
material is at least in part inclined towards the through-passage
opening in the open position of the closure flap.
12. The retaining plate according to claim 1, wherein an area of
the second region is at least 20%, of the total area of the closure
flap.
13. The retaining flap according to claim 1, further comprising a
spring, wherein the closure flap is pretensioned in a closed
position.
14. The retaining plate according to claim 1, further comprising a
sealing lip, wherein the sealing lip is arranged at least in part
along a circumference of the through-passage opening.
15. A vacuum cleaner filter bag, comprising a retaining plate, the
retaining plate comprising a through-passage opening and a closure
flap for closing the through-passage opening, wherein the closure
flap comprises a first region, comprising a first material of a
first hardness, and a second region, comprising a second material
of a second hardness, wherein the second hardness is less than the
first hardness, wherein the second region is arranged, at least in
part, on a periphery of the closure flap, and wherein the second
material, at least in part, has a thickness of less than 1 mm.
16. The retaining plate according to claim 2, wherein the first
material comprises a thermoplastic or the second material comprises
an elastomer.
17. The retaining plate according to claim 3, wherein the second
material has a harness of at least 30 Shore A or at most 60 Shore
A.
18. The retaining plate according to claim 4, wherein the second
material comprises a thickness of 0.05 to 0.2 mm.
19. The retaining plate according to claim 6, wherein at least 50%
of a circumference of the closure flap is formed by the second
material.
20. The retaining plate according to claim 7, wherein the second
region along the circumference of the closure flap at least in part
projects beyond the first region by at least 5 mm.
Description
[0001] The invention relates to a retaining plate for a vacuum
cleaner filter bag with a closure flap.
[0002] Vacuum cleaner filter bags usually comprise a retaining
plate at the inlet opening into the bag which is provided for
retaining the filter bag inside a vacuum cleaner. The openings in
these retaining plates can often be closed by means of a closure
flap. In the suction operation, the closure flap is in an open
position in which the through-passage opening of the retaining
plate is opened. When the suction operation is terminated, the
closure flap closes.
[0003] Conventional retaining plates are known, for example, from
DE 269 15 163, DE 199 48 909, DE 20 2008 004 733, or EP 1 849
392.
[0004] Such conventional retaining plates have a disadvantage in
that in the region of the opening of the retaining plate, dust
particles or fibers get deposited. Coarse dust particles or fibers
can in particular also be present at the periphery of the opening
and prevent the closure flap from completely closing.
[0005] In view of these problems, various possibilities have been
suggested to improve the vacuum cleaner filter bags. In EP 2 025
278, in the region of the inlet opening, the filter bag material
comprises an inner layer, for example of a foil or paper, such that
the formation of a filter cake on this area is prevented. From DE
10 2008 046 200, a filter bag is known in which a so-called flow
collar is formed on the retaining plate which extends at the inner
side of the retaining plate into the inside of the filter bag.
[0006] DE 10 2007 040 417 shows a vacuum cleaner filter bag with a
retaining plate, wherein in a non-operative state, a closure flap
rests on an opening periphery of the opening of the retaining plate
in a region of cooperation. The aim is to embody at least 50% or
more of the cooperation region of the opening periphery or the
periphery of the closure flap of so-called soft plastics having a
thickness in the millimeter range (1 to 3 mm). The soft plastic has
a Shore hardness of less than 25 Shore A. The soft plastic is
embodied to be thick enough for coarse dirt particles to be at
least partially pressed into the soft plastic by the action of the
closure flap.
[0007] In view of prior art, there is a demand for a further
improved retaining plate for a vacuum cleaner filter bag with a
closure flap which preferably permits the retaining plate opening
to be closed even if the bag is relatively full. For this, the
invention provides a retaining plate according to claim 1.
[0008] According to the invention, a retaining plate for a vacuum
cleaner filter bag is provided, comprising a through-passage
opening and a closure flap for closing the through-passage opening,
wherein the closure flap comprises a first region comprising a
first material of a first hardness, and a second region comprising
a second material of a second hardness, wherein the second hardness
is at a lower level than the first hardness, wherein the second
region is arranged, at least in part, on the periphery of the
closure flap, and wherein the second material, at least in part,
has a thickness of less than 1 mm.
[0009] Since in a peripheral region of the closure flap, the softer
material comprises a small thickness of less than 1 mm, the closure
flap can still move through the formed filter cake, for example
when the bag is filled with a relatively high amount of dirt, in
particular because the soft and thin periphery can be easily bent.
Thus, secure closing is ensured.
[0010] Material hardness can be, for example, Shore hardness. The
retaining plate is embodied inside a vacuum cleaner to retain the
vacuum cleaner filter bag. The retaining plate can in particular
comprise a base plate in which the through-passage opening is
formed. This base plate can be made of plastics. The closure flap
can be attached to the base plate. The closure flap can be
connected to the base plate by a hinge, for example an integral
hinge.
[0011] The closure flap of the above described retaining flap can
be integrally formed or comprise several partial flaps as they are
shown, for example, in DE 202008004733. In the latter case, each
partial flap can be connected to the base plate by a hinge.
[0012] The first and/or the second material could be plastics. The
first material can be thermoplastics and/or the second material can
be an elastomer. The second material can be, for example, a
thermoplastic elastomer (TPE). The TPE can be olefin-based (TPE-O),
cross-linked olefin-based (TPE-V), urethane-based (TPE-U), a
styrene block copolymer (TPE-S), or a copolyamide (TPE-A). This
permits an easy manufacture of the retaining plate. The second
material can in particular be an elastomer-modified polypropylene.
The second material can be embodied in the form of a foil.
[0013] The second material can have a hardness of 25 to 70 Shore A,
preferably of at least 30 Shore A and/or at most 60 Shore A. The
first material can have, for example, a hardness of 60 to 80 Shore
D.
[0014] The second material can in particular have a thickness of
less than 1 mm not only in part, but all over. Preferably, it can
have, at least in part or all over, a thickness of 0.02 mm to 0.9
mm, in particular of 0.05 to 0.2 mm, further preferred of 0.1 to
0.2 mm. In particular if the second material is only in part within
the stated thickness range, the region outside this thickness range
can be at most 20%, preferably at most 10% of the area of the
second region. For example, at most 20% of the area of the second
region can comprise a thickness of 1 mm or more.
[0015] In the above described retaining plates, the first region
can have a smaller area than that of the through-passage opening.
This means in particular the area of the through-passage opening on
the side of the retaining plate on which the closure flap rests in
the closed position. The first region can at least in part overlap
the second region. The area of the first region can be in
particular at most 90%, preferably at most 80% of the area of the
through-passage opening. If a sealing lip is in addition provided
at the through-passage opening, the first region can also have a
correspondingly smaller area than the area of the through-passage
opening of the sealing lip.
[0016] In the above described retaining plates, the second region
can be provided at least in part along the circumference or the
periphery of the closure flap. Here, in particular at least 50%,
preferably at least 70%, further preferred at least 90% of the
circumference of the closure flap can be formed by the second
material. For example, the complete circumference of the closure
flap can also be formed by the second material; here, it is
possible to omit the second material at most in the region of the
hinge of the closure flap.
[0017] The second region can project beyond the first region along
the circumference of the closure flap in part or completely by at
least 3 mm, preferably at least 5 mm, further preferred at least 7
mm. In this manner, a flexible peripheral region for the closure
flap of a width of at least 3 mm (in the radial direction) is
obtained (at least where the periphery of the closure flap is
formed by the second material).
[0018] The second region can project beyond the periphery of the
through-passage opening when the through-passage opening is closed
(that means in the closed position of the closure flap). The second
region can be designed such that it rests at least in part on the
base plate of the retaining plate when the through-passage opening
is closed. The area of the closure flap can be larger than that of
the through-passage opening.
[0019] The periphery of the first region can at least in part be
spaced apart from the periphery of the through-passage opening in
the closed position of the closure flap. The periphery of the first
region can be completely spaced apart from the periphery of the
through-passage opening, in particular except for the hinge or the
hinge region.
[0020] The second region can comprise a plurality of sections
separated by slots. The slots can in particular extend in the
radial direction. The slots can in particular be embodied across
the full width by which the second region projects beyond the first
region. The slots can be spaced apart along the circumference of
the closure flap by at least 1 mm, preferably at least 3 mm,
further preferred at least 5 mm.
[0021] The second material can be fixed to the first material in
front of or behind the latter in the closing direction of the
closure flap. The first and the second material can be glued or
welded to each other. As an alternative, the first and the second
region (or the first and the second material) can be manufactured
by means of a dual injection molding process.
[0022] The second region can be embodied to be flat or not flat in
the open position of the closure flap. In the open position, it can
be in particular shaped, for example like a key. In the open
position, the second material can be, at least in part, inclined or
bent in the direction of the through-passage opening (that means in
the closing direction).
[0023] The area of the second region can be at least 20%,
preferably at least 40%, further preferred at least 60% of the
total area of the closure flap. As an alternative or in addition,
the area of the first region can be at most 90%, preferably at most
70%, further preferred at most 50% of the total area of the closure
flap.
[0024] The above described retaining plates can furthermore
comprise a spring, wherein the closure flap is pretensioned in the
closed position. The closure flap is then opened against the spring
force.
[0025] The through-passage opening, the closure flap and/or the
first region can be embodied to be round, in particular circular.
The second region can comprise at least in part a circle, a portion
of a circle, a segment of a circle, and/or a sector of a circle.
The first region can comprise one or several bars, in particular in
the radial direction, which in the closed position of the closure
flap rest on the periphery of the through-passage opening. In
particular if the second material is thickened at one or several
points, one can do without the bars. At the thickened points, the
second material can comprise a thickness above the previously
stated thickness range.
[0026] The above described retaining plates can furthermore
comprise a sealing lip, wherein the sealing lip is arranged in part
or completely along the circumference of the through-passage
opening.
[0027] The invention furthermore provides a vacuum cleaner filter
bag, comprising one of the above described retaining plates. The
vacuum cleaner filter bag can in particular be embodied in the form
of a flat bag. The vacuum cleaner filter bag can comprise bag walls
comprising one or several layers of non-woven and/or formed
fabric.
[0028] The vacuum cleaner filter bag can furthermore comprise a
non-woven material in the region of the inlet opening which
prevents the formation of a filter cake, as it is described, for
example, in EP2025278.
[0029] Further features and advantages will be described below with
reference to the exemplary embodiments. The drawings schematically
show:
[0030] FIG. 1 a cross-sectional view of an example of a retaining
plate in the closed state;
[0031] FIG. 2 a cross-sectional view of an example of a retaining
plate in the open state;
[0032] FIG. 3 a plan view from inside a vacuum cleaner filter bag
onto an example of a closure flap;
[0033] FIG. 4 a plan view from inside a vacuum cleaner filter bag
onto another example of a closure flap;
[0034] FIG. 5 a plan view from inside a vacuum cleaner filter bag
onto another example of a closure flap;
[0035] FIG. 6 a plan view from inside the vacuum cleaner filter bag
onto another example of a closure flap without the second
material.
[0036] FIG. 1 shows a cross-sectional view of a schematic example
of a retaining plate 1. In the retaining plate 1, a through-passage
opening 2 is provided which can be closed by means of a closure
flap 3. A corresponding closed state is shown in FIG. 1.
[0037] The closure flap 3 is connected with the base plate 4 of the
retaining plate 1 via a hinge. The closure flap 3 comprises a first
region 5 of a first material and a second region 6 of a second
material. The base plate 4 of the retaining plate 1 is connected,
for example welded, to the bag walls 11 of the vacuum cleaner
filter bag.
[0038] The retaining plate furthermore comprises a spring 7 by
which the closure flap is pretensioned in the closed position. In
the shown example, this spring is firmly fixed to the closure flap
on its one side, but can move along the base plate 4 on the other
side.
[0039] As is illustrated in FIG. 2, the closure flap can be opened
in the operation of the vacuum cleaner filter bag. While it is
being opened, the closure flap moves towards the inside of the
vacuum cleaner filter bag. Opening the closure flap can in
particular be accomplished by means of the suction air flow; when
the vacuum cleaner is switched off, the closure flap automatically
closes again due to the spring force.
[0040] The retaining plate furthermore comprises a sealing lip 8 at
its through-passage opening 2. This sealing lip 8 can be arranged
at the base plate 4 in particular to surround the through-passage
opening 2. The sealing lip functions to seal a connecting piece
which is guided into the through-passage opening 2 and through
which, in the operation of the vacuum cleaner filter bag, the
sucked-in air enters the vacuum cleaner filter bag.
[0041] The base plate 4 and the closure flaps 3 with the regions 5
and 6 are preferably made of plastics. In particular the base plate
and the first region 5 of the closure plate can be made of the same
material; they can in particular be integrally formed (for example
by means of injection molding). The hinge is embodied as integral
hinge in the plastics.
[0042] The material of the base plate 4 and the first region 5 can
be, for example, a polypropylene of a suited hardness (e.g. 70
Shore D) to retain the vacuum cleaner filter bag fixed to the
retaining plate inside a vacuum cleaner. Next to the first region
5, the closure flap 3 comprises a second region 6 of a lower
hardness. The second material of this second region is relatively
thin. The thickness is below 1 mm and preferably between 0.05 mm
and 0.9 mm. The hardness of the second material is preferably
between 30 and 60 Shore A.
[0043] If the closure flap 3 closes or opens in the operation of
the vacuum cleaner filter bag, the thin and soft peripheral region
6 permits a simple pivoting of the closure flap 3. In particular,
this second region can be easily bent and thus permits to easily
open and close the closure flap even if the bag is filled to a
quite high degree and a corresponding filter cake has formed. If
there are in addition dust particles in the region of the
through-passage opening, the flexible second region will deform at
the corresponding point, which otherwise, however, does not prevent
the closure flap from closing.
[0044] As can be taken from FIGS. 1 and 2, the first region 5 of
the closure flap 3 does not reach to the periphery 12 of the
through-passage opening 2; the first region 5 thus has a smaller
area than that of the through-passage opening 2. The second region
6 in contrast projects beyond the first region 5 and also beyond
the periphery 12 of the through-passage opening 2; it extends over
the base plate. This ensures a reliable closing of the
through-passage opening 2. Preferably, the second region 6 projects
beyond the first region 5 by at least 3 mm.
[0045] The second material is, for example, a thermoplastic
elastomer, such as an elastomer-modified polypropylene. As an
alternative, the second material can also be made of another
plastics; other possibilities are the use of a rubber foil, formed
fabric or paper. The second material can be welded or glued to the
first material. As an alternative, the retaining plate can be
prepared together with the closure plate in a dual injection
molding process where the second material is injected to the first
material.
[0046] Basically, the second region can be embodied to be flat and
arranged in a plane parallel to the plane of the first region. In
the example shown in FIG. 2, the second material is in contrast
inclined away from the first material towards the through-passage
opening. Such a shape improves the dust-tight closing of the
through-passage opening.
[0047] The first and second regions can be embodied in many
different ways. Examples of this are shown in FIGS. 3 to 5. These
are each plan views onto the closure flap from inside the vacuum
cleaner filter bag. In each of these embodiments, the second
material is fixed to the first material behind the latter, seen in
the closing direction of the closure flap. However, it is basically
also possible for the second material to be arranged on the other
side of the closure flap.
[0048] In the example shown in FIG. 3, the first region 5 has a
circular design, as is indicated in a dashed line. The first region
5 is integrally formed with the base plate 4 and connected to the
latter via an integral hinge.
[0049] Along the circumference of the first region 5, the flexible
peripheral region 6 is provided in the form of a portion of a
circle. This flexible region 6 on the one hand overlaps the first
region 5 where it is glued to the latter, and on the other hand
overlaps the through-passage opening in the closed state of the
closure flap. In particular, the flexible peripheral element 6
extends beyond the periphery 12 (shown in a dashed line) of the
through-passage opening. Except for the hinge region, here the
second region 6 is provided along the complete circumference of the
closure flap.
[0050] In this example, the area of the first region 5 is smaller
than the area of the through-passage opening defined by the
surrounding periphery 12. Furthermore, the periphery of the first
region is completely spaced apart from the periphery 12 of the
through-passage opening, except for the hinge region in the closed
position.
[0051] The base plate 4 of the retaining plate is welded to the bag
walls 11 of the vacuum cleaner filter bag along the weld seam
13.
[0052] In the example shown in FIG. 4, the second region 6
comprises three segments of a circle which are fixed to a T-shaped
first region 5. The major portion of the area of the closure flap
is here formed by the second material. In this embodiment, the area
of the first region 5 is smaller than the area of the
through-passage opening defined by the surrounding periphery 12.
However, with its crossbar, the region 5 reaches to the periphery
12 and rests on the latter. Thus, even with a relatively high
pretension of the spring 7, the closure flap is prevented from
being further pressed into the through-passage opening by the
spring in the closed state.
[0053] The example shown in FIG. 5 corresponds to the example of
FIG. 3, wherein the second region now comprises a plurality of
sections separated by slots 9. The advantage of the sections is
that, despite a dirt particle being squeezed between the second
material and the periphery of the through-passage opening when the
closure flap is closed, a good sealing of the through-passage
opening can be achieved.
[0054] FIG. 6 shows again a plan view onto a retaining flap seen
from the inside of a vacuum cleaner filter bag. In this figure, the
second material was omitted for better illustration. Similar to the
example according to FIG. 3, the major portion of the first region
5 is embodied like a circle. As can be taken from FIG. 6, here,
too, the area of the first region 5 is smaller than the area of the
through-passage opening defined by the periphery 12. In this
embodiment, the second region 5 does not extend to the periphery of
the through-passage opening 2, except for two radially arranged
bars 10.
[0055] In the closed position, the bars 10 are lying against the
periphery 12 of the through-passage opening 2. It is thus prevented
that the closure flap is further pressed into the through-passage
opening 2 due to the spring force. Now a second, softer material,
for example as shown in FIG. 3 or 5, can be fixed on the first
region 5. Instead of the bars 10, the second material could also be
thickened in parts (for example in a bar-shape) to ensure a
corresponding abutment to the periphery of the through-passage
opening. In this case, the first region 5 would not have to reach
to the periphery of the through-passage opening 2 (except for the
hinge region). Depending on the pretension of the spring 7, one can
also do without the bars at the first material as well as
thickenings in the second material.
[0056] Instead of the two bars shown in FIG. 6, only one bar or a
higher number of bars can be alternatively provided.
[0057] In the illustrated embodiments, only one closure flap each
is provided. As an alternative, the described features can also be
applied to the case of two or more partial flaps, as they are
shown, for example, in DE 20 2008 04 733. Each of the partial flaps
would then be provided with the second material which is in
particular arranged in the region where the partial flaps touch
each other in the closed position.
* * * * *